Forge First Asset Management Inc. Takes $4.87 Million Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Forge First Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 103,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,870,000. Bank of America comprises about 1.8% of Forge First Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 246.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% during the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acima Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC increased their price objective on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.86.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $51.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $377.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $54.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.52%.

Bank of America Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.